Report: Salaries surging in oil and gas industry

The U.S. oil boom is driving a surge in salaries in the energy industry, with average pay packages growing 5% over the past year, according to a report released by CSI Recruiting. The Houston Chronicle reports drilling engineers, who design and manage well-drilling plans, saw their average salaries grow more than 9% to $159,127, according to the report. Production and operations engineers, who oversee field operations when wells start producing oil and gas, also saw a 9% jump in average salary to $163,748. The average annual salary for reservoir engineers—who are often the highest paid in the industry—increased a meager 1% to $168,722 in 2012, following a 20% jump the year before. CSI Recruiting, a Denver-based staffing agency, analyzed the salaries and bonuses of more than 2,400 workers in the U.S. oil and gas exploration and production industry, including engineers, geologists and technicians. Skilled workers have been in short supply during the drilling boom, causing salaries to grow in many fields. However, the salary boost didn't occur evenly across the industry. The sinking price of natural gas is hitting the payrolls of some firms, the report notes. Natural gas companies saw higher turnover, and their employees fared worse than similar employees working for oil-focused companies. About 90% of technical workers received cash bonuses, at about 25% of their base salaries, according to the report. Stock options, profit sharing programs and other incentive payouts have added even more to compensation packages. See more salary averages by position in the full story here.